What is exporting goods? Learn about export documents or necessary papers when exporting goods including: commercial contracts, bills of lading, invoices…
In today’s developing and integrated economy, exporting goods is no longer strange to Vietnamese enterprises. This is also one of the most important fields and plays an indispensable role in the development of a country. Expanding the market abroad helps domestic enterprises have more business opportunities and creates conditions for sustainable growth.
So when doing procedures for exporting goods, what documents and certificates do businesses need to prepare? Find out with fdiinvietnam.com.
I. What is exporting goods?
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 28 of Consolidated Document 17/VBHN-VPQH dated July 5, 2019 issued by the Office of the National Assembly, exporting goods is the act of bringing products and goods out of the territory of Vietnam or into a special area located in the territory of Vietnam that is considered a separate customs area according to the provisions of law.
II. Necessary documents when exporting goods (export documents)
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 16 of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC (amended by Clause 5, Article 1 of Circular 39/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018), the required export documents include:
1. Sales Contract
A commercial contract is a written agreement between a buyer and a seller to establish, regulate, and terminate rights and obligations in commercial activities.
The basic contents of a commercial contract include:
- Buyer and seller information: name, address, account number, phone number…;
- Information about goods: name of goods, quantity, unit price, total value, quality, characteristics and packaging specifications of goods…;
- Delivery information: delivery time, delivery location, delivery method and delivery documents;
- Payment information: payment method, payment term and payment currency;
- Rights and obligations of the parties: product warranty, insurance, force majeure, contract termination and other regulations.
2. Commercial Invoice
A commercial invoice is a commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer to confirm the transaction between the parties. In addition, a commercial invoice is also an important basis for calculating import and export taxes and is used to compare with other documents during import and export procedures.
A commercial invoice is issued after the seller has shipped the goods or after the goods have been packed into a container because by then there is already accurate information about the quantity, type of goods, etc.
There is no common template for a commercial invoice, and businesses will design their own according to their needs. The main basic content on the invoice includes:
- Buyer and seller information: name, address, phone number, email…;
- Invoice information: invoice number and invoice issue date;
- Product information: product name, quantity, unit price, total value, specifications…;
- Delivery method;
- Payment method;
- Related costs not included in the value of goods: shipping costs, insurance costs, packaging costs…
3. Packing List
A packing list is an important document that provides detailed information about the items packed in a shipment, helping to ensure that the shipping and delivery of goods is carried out correctly.
Packing list usually has 3 types:
- Detailed packing list: Shows details of imported and exported packaged goods;
- Neutral packing list: Does not show the seller’s name, rarely used;
- Packing and weight list: Similar to detailed packing list but with weight list attached.
Depending on the purpose of use and agreement between the two parties, the packing list will include the following basic information:
- Buyer and seller information: name, address, phone number, fax;
- Information about goods: name of goods, product code, quantity, weight;
- Packing information: number of packages, cartons and packing boxes;
- Information on loading and unloading locations: loading port and unloading port;
- Seller’s confirmation: signature and stamp.
>> See details: Packing list – Packing list.
4. Bill of Lading
Bill of Lading (B/L) is a document for transporting goods by sea, this document plays an important role in the transportation of goods issued by the carrier. In it, the carrier will confirm that the goods have been transported and commit that the goods will reach the buyer at the destination port in good condition and in full quantity as stated on the documents.
There are currently 4 main types of bills of lading classified by means of transport:
- Air waybill;
- Railway waybill;
- Road waybill;
- Bill of lading.
The bill of lading will show the main contents such as:
- Bill of lading number;
- Shipper and consignee information;
- Basic parameters of the shipment;
- Fee information…
See details:
>> What is a bill of lading?
>> What is Bill of lading?
5. Customs Declaration
Customs declaration is a document that exporters need to declare details about the shipment as required by customs authorities when exporting.
Deadline for submitting customs declaration:
- For export goods: After gathering goods at the location at least 4 hours before the means of transport departs;
- For export goods sent by express delivery service: At least 2 hours before the means of transport departs.
After receiving the customs declaration, the customs will return the classification results. Specifically, it is divided into 3 streams as follows:
- Green channel: Applicable to enterprises that comply with the state’s legal regulations on customs. Enterprises are exempted from detailed inspection of records and goods details, accepted for electronic customs clearance immediately upon declaration transmission and are classified into customs channels;
- Yellow channel: Customs will conduct a document check, exempt from detailed inspection of goods. If the document is valid, customs clearance will be immediate;
- Red channel: Customs will check the documents in detail and conduct detailed inspection of the goods with different levels of actual inspection of the shipment.
In addition to the above required documents, some other documents are also required in the export document set such as: quality certificate, inspection certificate, food hygiene and safety certificate, etc.
III. Frequently asked questions about required export documents
1. When there are multiple contracts or export orders for the same customer, how should customs declaration be made?
According to the provisions of Clause 7, Article 25 of Decree 08/2015/ND-CP dated January 21, 2015, exported goods with multiple contracts or orders, the same delivery conditions, the same payment method, sold to the same customer and delivered at one time shall be declared on one or more customs declarations.
2. The company has exported the goods and completed customs procedures, however, due to defective goods, the buyer does not accept the import and returns the goods. What documents are required for the customs dossier to re-import the goods?
According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 47 of Decree 08/2015/ND-CP dated January 21, 2015 and Clause 5, Article 1 of Circular 39/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018, the re-import customs dossier for exported goods includes:
- Import goods declaration (customs declaration);
- Transport documents in case of goods transported by sea, air or rail (1 copy);
- Document from the foreign party notifying that the goods are returned or document from the shipping line/shipping agent notifying that there is no recipient (1 copy);
- Official dispatch requesting not to collect tax according to the information criteria specified in Form No. 2, Appendix IIa issued with Circular 39/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018.
In case of paper documents, the taxpayer shall submit an official dispatch requesting tax exemption according to form No. 05/CVDNKTT/TXNK, clearly stating: re-import customs declaration number, export customs declaration number, contract number, payment document number (if any), and the taxpayer’s commitment that the goods have not been used, processed or manufactured abroad (1 original).
>> See details: Procedures for re-importing returned export goods.